Poor Losers

To hear Alexandra Pelosi (yes, Nancy’s daughter) tell it, the 58 million who didn’t vote for Obama is a deeply disaffected segment of our society, one that the rest of us ignore at our own peril. She went on the campaign trail this past year specifically to take the temperature of the conservatives (i.e., McCain supporters). Her premise was that the media, which she says is liberal, doesn’t give the Right its due. And as a result, these people are feeling disenfranchised and they’re not happy about it.

How does she view, then, 2000 and 2004, when the Right triumphed with the elections of George Bush? Presumably the media was just as liberal then as it has ever been. Was there anyone then who was reporting on how the “liberals” felt? How disaffected or angry they were? I don’t remember any of that. To me it felt like everyone was on Bush’s bandwagon, especially after 9/11, and you didn’t dare say so if you weren’t. It was considered unpatriotic, even traitorous. Now there is this concern about how the poor conservatives are taking their reversal in fortune. I say, they should suck it up and deal with it, like the Left had to do for eight years (which was eight too many as far as I’m concerned).

Judging by the Republicans’ lack of support during the stimulus votes, it appears that they are sore losers. If the game isn’t played by their rules, they just want to take the ball and go home. If they weren’t so worried about pandering to that 58 million, they might be able to do what the Left was expected to do when Bush won: be bipartisan. Everyone gets so incensed when Democrats hold onto their political ideals. But when the Republicans do it, they’re taking care of their poor constituents, as if they deserve some kind of consolation prize.

We’re past the point of partisanship. What is needed now are measures that benefit this society as a whole. Not just the ones who voted for Obama or for McCain. After all, the economy is no respector of political orientation, not this time. Trickle-down economics isn’t working because those at the top are being hit as hard as those at the bottom. Everyone is afraid of losing their jobs. McMansions are going into foreclosure at as high a rate as the lowliest middle-class homes. Everyone is afraid to spend their dwindling reserves of cash, let alone take out more credit.

According to Gallup, Obama had a 68% approval rating when he went into office. That’s 17 points higher than Reagan and 11 higher than Bush their first times around. That sounds like a majority to me. That’s what a democracy is like. The “losers” might not like it, but if they keep acting like spoiled brats, we’re all going to be losers. Of course, they’ll try to blame it on the Democrats. But they need to take responsibility for their own actions and attitudes. They need to be models for the rest of us. We hold them to a higher standard because we want them to be our leaders. Let’s hope they start acting like it.

There are things outside of me that describe me–I’m a wife, mother and grandmother, for instance. I have two cats and I love to read, write, garden and learn languages. And there are things inside me that describe me–I’m an introvert with strong leanings toward the spiritual and intellectual, I’m ... Continue reading →